BAZEMORE TAKES A TUMBLE ON THE TOP END

Sun, 2006-08-20 20:00

Whit Bazemore was involved in a
nasty fire following his second round loss to John Force. Bazemore took a tumble
at the top end when he exited the car through the hatch. The car was still
rolling at 30 miles per hour.

According to an NHRA official, Bazemore was transported to the
hospital to be checked for potential injuries associated with the fall.

UPDATED: 2:21 PM, - Just when he thought he’d
abandoned the name “blazemore,” it fired up again on him in the second round
against nemesis John Force. The fire didn’t get him but the tumble afterwards
didn’t leave him with that comfortable feeling.

Bazemore had a few scrapes and a sore back. But, that’s nothing
that band-aids and a trip to the masseuse couldn’t fix.

“It was a fire similar to the ones we used to have in the old
days,” Bazemore said. “Everything was manageable until the brake-line burned
off. I rely on the brakes a lot and sometimes we don’t use the parachutes. I had
nothing to stop the car.

“It was hot and there were no brakes on the car and I could have
been going 100 miles per hour and need another 30 seconds to stop,” Bazemore
said. “I stood up through the hatch and I saw we were going to glance the wall
and I didn’t want any part of that. I jumped off.

“I’m fine, they (NHRA) made a big deal about going to the
hospital,” Bazemore said.

Bazemore said the car, while burned pretty good ought to be fine
for Indy testing.